This Little Guy
by HushedSilence
Summary: It's funny how a dog can bring two strangers together. Slight KibaXoc. T for cursing. First Request!


**This is a request from a reader of mine named AnimeLover1999. This is actually my first request, and I'm going to try my best to make it amazing. I hope you like it! **

**It is set somewhere in the time skip, so Akamaru isn't so small anymore, but he isn't freakishly huge, either.**

**The quote that I put here helped me with this story. It actually helped me come up with the entire thing. So... thank you, David Byrne, whoever you are!**

**My OC is in no way related to me. Just in case you guys are curious, IT'S AN ANIME. I can give her purple hair if I want to.**

**EDIT: This is by far the greatest thing I have ever written. Not kidding. Wow. Oh, and sorry if it stopped in an odd spot, it was kind of long and I liked it ending right there. :) **

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><p><em>Disclaimer:I do not own Naruto. There would have been romance by now and I would have been rolling in money instead of typing a story on FF.<em>

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><p><em>"Sometimes it's a form of love just to talk to somebody that you have nothing in common with and still be fascinated by their presence." ~David Byrne<em>

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><p>"Come back here, Akamaru!" Kiba laughed as he chased his dog. The dog wagged his tail and barked in response, but did not stop. Their loud and rambunctious actions disturbed the serenity of the park they were in. Birds became frightened and flew off, choosing safety over a few breadcrumbs from an elderly couple. The couple initially frowned but smiled after seeing such a happy scene between a boy and his dog.<p>

It had always been a special activity for the two of them-taking walks in the park, that is. The activity had started when Kiba first got Akamaru as a kid and it just never got old. It gave Kiba a chance to forget about missions and pleasing his mother and sister. It also gave Akamaru a chance to just enjoy being a dog for once (working hard on missions was difficult and exhausting for both parties). Of course, it was no surprise that when Kiba found out he had nothing to do that day, the two of them jumped at the opportunity to spend the day at the park.

After Kiba ran after him for a while, Akamaru made a sharp right turn around a tree to throw off Kiba. The dog did not expect, though, to see a girl behind the tree. Though it was unfortunate at the time, this little mistake might have been a good thing in the long run. Why? Because it sparked the beginning of a long friendship between a boy and a girl...

Needless to say, she did not see it coming. The girl screamed, unprepared for such a large dog colliding with her in a matter of seconds. _Thud!_ She was tackled to the ground.

"Akamaru! Get off of her!" Kiba yelled when he arrived at the scene. Akamaru, panting, did as his master commanded. This gave Kiba an opportunity to really look at the poor girl. Grass had gotten stuck to her hair and dirt was all over her clothes. Though it was just a red jacket and black pants, she would probably still be furious. Akamaru's dog slobber was all over the place, and would eventually get sticky if she did not get cleaned up soon.

The girl got up and brushed herself off in a futile attempt to recover from the incident. "See, _this_ is why I'm a cat person." She said to no one in particular. It was not so much said as it was muttered, but Kiba's well trained ears heard it and he frowned.

"For the record, dogs are better," Kiba said. The girl flinched and quickly turned toward Kiba. He, in return, smirked. It appeared that she forgot he was even there! If she was somehow a ninja, she sucked at it.

"They're... okay, I suppose." She said as she narrowed her eyes. "But I might change my mind if you don't wipe that smirk off your face."

"Fair enough." He exchanged his smirk for a cocky smile. "I'm Inuzuka Kiba," he introduced while holding out his hand toward the girl still on the ground.

The girl accepted his hand and got up. "I'm Kojima Kimi." At closer inspection, Kiba noticed that the girl had nice brown eyes like the color of Akamaru's nose and ears. Her hair was purple, but it was so dark that it looked black from far away. The only reason he knew it was purple in the first place was because the sun made it easier to notice. It was tied into a ponytail that only reached a couple inches past her shoulders. She untied her hair after he noticed this, though, then proceeded to lean forward so she could shake some of the grass out of her hair.

Kiba rubbed his neck awkwardly and pet Akamaru. Nowadays, he did not even need to bend down to pet his dog's head anymore. "Sorry for this little guy's behavior. I guess we got a little carried away," he said. Akamaru barked, as if he, too, was apologizing.

She stopped picking out pieces of grass and looked up, a questioning look in her eye. " 'This little guy?' He doesn't look so little to me. And it's fine, really."

Kiba looked at his best friend. Had he somehow grown without him knowing, even though he spent every waking moment with him? "Is he really that big? I didn't notice."

Kimi kneeled down and got a closer look at the dog that had tackled her down to the ground only moments before. Akamaru sniffed her, looking to identify and search for anything dangerous about the new girl in front of him. Once he was satisfied, she began petting him behind the ears and he let his tongue hang out. "I guess he isn't as terrifying now, is he?"

Kiba gave a big toothy grin. With confidence, he boasted, "Not right now, but let me warn you: be _very_ afraid."

Skeptical, Kimi slowly nodded. "I'll be sure to keep my guard up around this cute,_ suspicious_ animal of yours."

"I'm not kidding when I say he's dangerous." Kiba was proud of his best friend. Even if he was not with him in the middle of a battle (which would never happen, but still!), Kiba had no doubt that the dog would be able to hold his own. Still grinning, he continued, "Him and I make quite a team!"

Kimi stood up after petting Akamaru some more. She looked back and forth between the two of them. Kiba was unnerved when she suddenly stopped going back and forth and just stared straight at him with a thoughtful expression. What, was something on his face?

"Oh, I see now." The girl snapped in her fingers and she had a look of understanding on her face. "You guys are Konoha ninjas! The headband should have tipped me off."

The boy sweat-dropped. "_Yeah..._ Way to just notice that _now_. "

"Shut up," Kimi replied, blushing from embarrassment. She punched him on the arm, but it was weak and did not have any strength behind it.

"And I'm guessing you're not a ninja."

"Way to go, captain obvious. I'm one of the regular people in town. You know, the ones you protect? Well, try to anyway." She winked.

"For the record, if _you_ were a ninja, you would have died a _long_ time ago."

"No need to flatter me, Inuzuka-san. You're such a charmer."

"I try."

"Well, I guess I've got to go." Kiba frowned, but she kept talking. "Nice meeting-_Oh, crap!_" Kimi panicked. She brushed the hair out of her face and started staring up into the sky. Kiba's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What?" Kiba asked.

"My cat, Matsuko, is missing. She climbs trees all the time. That's the whole reason I keep looking up!" Kimi explained quickly, too agitated to pronounce the words slowly.

Kiba frowned. "Don't cats always return home or something?"

"That's the thing, though. We moved into a bigger house since our old one was getting too small, and she doesn't know where home _is_, yet."

Kiba nodded in understanding. "If you want, we can search the trees for you," He offered.

"Can you? That would be great."

"Yeah, no problem. Do you have any of her fur or something with her scent on it? Akamaru and I could really use it."

Kimi thought for a second then nodded. "Yeah, I have one of her old toys in my pocket." She stuck her hand into her pocket and took out a small stuffed mouse. It was ragged and was clearly used a lot over the years.

"Perfect!" Kiba grabbed it and waved it in front of Akamaru's face. "Got that scent memorized, Akamaru?" When Akamaru barked in response, he nodded. Kiba proceeded to sniff the toy himself, which made Kimi crack up.

"Okay, I can forgive the animal look you have going on, but acting like one is a little weird, don't you think?"

Kiba frowned and got a little agitated. What right did she have to make fun of him like that?

He then got control of himself and realized something: Since she was not a ninja, chances are she had never seen him in action. In fact, she might not have seen a ninja do anything crazy _in general_. To her, Ninjas were probably just a bunch of people that send messages back and forth between countries and enforce the rules. Kimi had never seen a ninja do something as simple as tracking someone (in this case, a cat).

He smirked, proudly showing off his animal-like fangs. It was about time that he showed her what ninjas can really do. "I guess I should have wondered why the fangs and nails didn't freak you out. Well, Kojima-san, I guess I ought to show you that all of these animal-like traits aren't just for show."

Kiba sniffed the toy once more and got a good whiff of the cat's scent. He crinkled his nose and returned the toy to the cat's owner. "Heh, piece of cake. Reminds me of my days as a new genin."

Kimi snorted and did not move from where she stood. Kiba felt her eyes on him as he walked in what looked like a random direction with Akamaru. The two of them suddenly took off at a speed that Kiba knew was much too fast for Kimi's untrained eyes to follow. Was it showing off and unnecessary ? Hell, yes! Was he going to admit it? Hell, _no_.

He came back about five minutes later with a small kitten poking its head out of the inside of his grey jacket. Having any animal besides Akamaru inside his jacket made Kiba feel weird. He could not get used to the soft purr of the cat on his chest. It could not compete with the way Akamaru did it in the old days. It was just plain weird, really...

"I believe this is yours," Kiba said, scaring the living daylights out of Kimi. She had decided to start looking, herself, while he was gone. Kiba had found her looking up into a tree with one leg and two arms on the tree trunk, as if she were about to climb it. Kiba thought he had showed up just in time.

"Alright, that was just freaky," Kimi exclaimed while taking back her cat. Matsuko was still warm from being so close to Kiba for so long inside his jacket. "That wasn't even 10 minutes and you already found my little trouble-maker?"

"I had to do things like that all the time when I started out as a ninja." Kiba explained.

"I see. Well, thanks a lot. You have no idea how much it means to me." Kimi thanked him.

"No, I think I do."

With a confused expression, Kimi took her eyes off of her precious Matsuko and met Kiba's suddenly serious face.

He continued, "Matsuko is someone you treasure, right? A friend who is there for you and helps you through hard times? Someone that you can't imagine life without? A pet that isn't really a pet, but more like a best friend? That's the way I think of Akamaru, here. He's been my closest friend ever since I was a little kid. I almost lost him a few times, you know. During one of those more dangerous missions. I flipped out. I'm glad he's with me now, though."

Akamaru rubbed his head affectionately on Kiba's leg and Kiba pet him in response. Kimi's eyes never left Kibas, and they shared "a moment."

"You know, I'm kind of glad 'this little guy' tackled me today." Kimi said. Kiba raised an eyebrow, but the girl kept talking. "He's pretty much the reason I met you."


End file.
